GERARD HOULLIER claimed Liverpool are "back among the elite" after guiding the club into the Champions League last night.

GERARD HOULLIER claimed Liverpool are "back among the elite" after guiding the club into the Champions League last night.

Liverpool will compete for the European Cup for the first time since 1985 following an emphatic 9-1 aggregrate win over FC Haka.

The Reds will discover tomorrow who their opponents will be in the first stage of the group competition. If Parma go out tonight, the Reds may even be

among the top eight seeds, thus avoiding Europe's big guns.

Houllier said: "It has taken us 40 games to get here. We played 38 league matches last season and then another two against Haka. This is our reward. I am pleased to be taking my players back into the elite competition.

"It's a good day for Liverpool and for the fans, especially as we ensured our qualification with a good win against Haka.

"It's always hard to break teams down when they play with a different system. They pushed up in Finland but played much deeper this time. The first half was okay, but the second half was better. We were more composed.

"Our passing and movement was good. We kept trying so that is why I am pleased with the result. Sometimes you win games without doing things right, but I thought we did well tonight."

There was praise for both Robbie Fowler and Jamie Redknapp, who both scored on their return to competitive starting places.

"Robbie took his goal well. He still needs more sharpness but that will come with games. Jamie had a good game and I'm pleased he scored.

"I took him off because I wanted Steven Gerrard to have a run out and when you come back there is always a danger you can pick up an injury late in the game."

Sander Westerveld is likely to return in goal against Bayern Munich in the Super Cup this Friday.